Hekate Her Sacred Fires is an exceptional book for an extraordinary, eternal and universal Goddess. It brings together essays, prose and artwork from more than fifty remarkable contributors from all over the world. Their stories and revelations are challenging, their visions and determination in exploring the mysteries are inspirational, and their enthusiasm for the Goddess of the Crossroads is truly entrancing and sometimes highly infectious. Hekate is a Goddess of great antiquity. She is primordial, powerful and sometimes animalistic - and yet, she is also sophisticated, modern and capable of adapting to different cultures. She is the Torchbearer, the Cosmic World Soul, the Guide and Companion. She is Mistress of the Restless Dead, who rules over the Heavens Earth and Sea. She is the Keybearer and so much more. Her devotees today, as throughout the ages, include philosophers, poets, sorcerers, theurgists, witches, root-cutters, enchantresses and ordinary people. In her introduction, the author and priestess Sorita d'Este brings together an exciting wealth of material on the history and development of how the goddess Hekate has been seen through the ages. As well as a fascinating discussion of her possible origins and mythological connections, the introduction also includes a timeline providing glimpses into her portrayal through the ages, with extracts from literature and examples of amulets, coins and art. The spectrum of material covered in this anthology is as diverse as the forms of Hekate herself, emphasising her role as lightbearer, keybearer, initiatrix, world soul, child's nurse, mistress of crossroads and serpent mysteries. Her devotees describe her role in traditional witchcraft and initiatory Wicca, healing and paganism, her approachability through her angels and trance oracles, her assistance in overcoming traumas and helping the dead continue their journeys. From the reestablishment of the ancient worship of the great mother goddess as Hekate in Thrace to meteorites and pilgrimages, Hekate's presence around the world and beyond is vividly described and illustrated by her torchbearers.

Reader Reviews

Melissa

(5/5)

Nov 21, 2024

There was a lot of really good information in these essays regarding Hekate. Some of the essays are hard to read because they seemed a bit rambly, but then there are the ones that are written really well that have a lot of interesting details. It took me a long time to read this book because of the rambly essays, so I would suggest to try and skim through those so that you can get to the really good stuff.

Alexia

This is a fantastic book that I highly recommend to anyone interested in learning more about the devotion to the Goddess Hekate. In this book you have texts and devotional pieces (art, poems, etc) from several devotees from all around the world and from all types of spiritual and religious paths. It's so beautiful to see the diversity that worships our Lady Hekate and we are all connected through Her.

Sherry Roit

(4/5)

Not a how to—which is a good thing. I enjoyed reading not only historical/mythological backgrounds of Hekate, but also so many personal experiences being shared. While they won’t all resonate the same (of course not!) it’s fascinating and I think, useful, to see how she appears to different people, while at the same time, there is a common thread.

Christer Ellingsen

Extremely inspirational,all these Voices communicating their relationship to the Goddess

Joseph “Millennium Man”

Book starts with background and history of the goddess. Next is a collection of essays of personal experiences with Hackate from various different contributors. There is also a glossary and more material at the end of the book. I recognized names of a few familiar pagan/wiccan authors. I believe I made an excellent choice for a book about the goddess Hakate.

Παλλαδία Σόρια

Fantastic book full of histories with the Lady of the Misteries...Easy to read, full of information, with a fantastic introduction for Sorita D'Este. This book may be in your library if you are a devotee of the Goddess.

Steve Cran

Avalonia has went ahead and put out another anthology dedicated to Hekate. This would mark the second of such a work . Grand total I think they have put out about four or five books dedicated to Hekate. This attest her popularity among the neo-pagans. Several well known authors in the pagan community have made their contributions to this work among them are: Shani Oates,John Canard, Emily Carding, Vikki Bramshaw, Rqaven Digitalis, Katherine Sutherland plus several others including David Rankin...

Letitia

A book that will be read and reread many times over. As a devoted, solitary Priestess of Hekate, I always love to hear of the ways in which others connect to and work with Her. I love that these stories have such variation, from full ceremonial magicians, to just-starting-out solitaries.There is so much food for thought and inspiration among these pages, that it will take me several readings more, just to digest it all. Sorita has done it again, with another wonderful tome of Hekate, that will b...

Nicole

I admit that I bit off more than I could chew with this book. I've been coveting it for quite some time now, and when I was finally able to get my hands on a copy, I realized it was definitely not the foundational text on Hekate that I needed. However, I enjoyed reading others' experiences of the goddess; it added an element that another sort of book most likely would have lacked. Many shared very vulnerable experiences of trauma and abuse and how Hekate lent a guiding torch to them in their mos...

Samantha Strong

An interesting anthology of different perspectives I like this book a lot. It gives a lot of different perspectives, and as the editor states, they're taken from many traditions across the world. I can tell that Sorita d'Este is a devoted and loving follower of Hekate, and I'm extremely happy to have acquired and read this book.The reason I won't give these five stars is the editing portion. As an editor myself, I understand the stated intention not to change the various contributors' voices. Ye...

Charles Gardner

I've decided to change my life for good, so I'm new to this journey in life that I've chosen but I'm having this on and off attraction to Hekate. And I'd like to more do more and believe more in her. I don't have any place where I can freely start to know her better for now I'm just trying to communicate threw meditation and trying to visualize her in my mind's eye. But these books will definitely help me on my journey and I'll not stop to find what I need including her. Blessed Be brothers and

Isis Rea-rose

Sorita d'Este has an understanding of what pagans and others with an interest in magic wants to read when they are beyond the 'beginner' level of their understanding and study. Whilst other authors continue to take the spotlight with yet more 101 books on the Goddess and how to do basic candle spells, she is creating the books for the next generation. People who are tired of yet another book telling you stuff you already know.Hekate Her Sacred Fires is an excellent example of a book which pushes...

Joey

I really wanted to get a better understanding of the deity Hekate, and this was the first book I managed to come across covering the topic in any detail. I have found it incredible getting to read about peoples experiences, it was much easier to get an understanding for me than when I try and look at Greek myths. after reading this i believe a good sentence explanation for this collection would be"experiences with the many faces of Hekate"

Kelly Miess

I read this over almost three months, a good way to go in my opinion. I didn't read more than one essay a day, which allowed me to differentiate between them. There's so much good here that despite some of the shorter, less detailed entries, there's a whole lot of treasure to be found. As one who is newish to Hekate, I really enjoyed reading about the diversity of practices and experiences of this goddess.

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Hekate: Her Sacred Fires

Hekate: Her Sacred Fires

Hekate: Her Sacred Fires

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